


17 - I Did Not See That Coming

by VickeyStar



Series: Whumptober 2020 [17]
Category: Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Juliet Higgins Angst, Not really much whump in this one huh, Pre-Series, Protective Juliet Higgins, Protective Thomas Magnum, Whumptober 2020, ish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27062566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VickeyStar/pseuds/VickeyStar
Summary: She looks him in the eye, and something strengthens in her eyes, a bit, when she gets his message./I don’t know who these guys are, but I am ready and willing to help you handle them./Blackmail | Dirty Secret | Wrongfully Accused
Relationships: Juliet Higgins & Everyone, Juliet Higgins & Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV, Theodore "T.C." Calvin & Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV & Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright, Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV & Sebastian Nuzo
Series: Whumptober 2020 [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946791
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	17 - I Did Not See That Coming

**Author's Note:**

> We don't know how to use italics in the summary area.  
> As for the fic? We... don't really like writing blackmail or dirty secret fics, tbh. Last year's humiliation fic was about an oc, with higgins coming to her rescue, for example.  
> This fic really just alludes to the prompts, more than anything, but we like it and we're writing within our comfort zone, so please enjoy!  
> ~ Sleef/Vic

When Thomas comes back from a case interview, he’s surprised to see a black SUV in the driveway of Robin’s Nest.

He’s quick to head to Higgins’s office, met with the sight of two men in suits, one of them practically ripping a file from her hands when they notice his presence.

“Hey, Higgins. Everything alright?” Thomas asks, lifting a cautious eyebrow.

Yeah, he could be misreading the room, he hasn’t known Juliet for long, but she seems paler than usual, and the way that man took the file back just _screams_ danger.

He looks at her, ignoring anything that comes out of the two men’s mouths, only noting that they have English accents and moving on.

She looks him in the eye, and something strengthens in her eyes, a bit, when she gets his message.

_I don’t know who these guys are, but I am ready and willing to help you handle them._

Her gaze gets a tad confused, for some reason, before she takes a breath and gives him a small smile.

Now he _definitely_ knows something’s wrong.

“Everything’s fine, Mr. Magnum. These are just some old associates, finalizing some papers.”

The two men don’t bother introducing themselves, just brushing past him with the file secured under one of their arms as they leave.

Juliet ignores his presence for a moment, pulling up the cameras around the front gate and watching as the men get into the SUV and leave.

There’s a strange moment, between them, Thomas waiting for something to happen while Juliet just goes back to work, slightly tenser than usual.

He realizes he’s not going to get an answer, or any kind of explanation, so he considers what to do.

Seeing her continue to ignore his presence, glancing out the massive windows to see the sun going down, he makes a decision.

~*~

He comes back a few minutes later, putting a plate with a burger and fries on her desk and sitting on the couch across from her.

He’d moved quick, so to a normal person, that little jump she’d given when he’d placed the plate down wouldn’t need an explanation.

But, not that she knows it, he’d been made aware of her previous employment, and knows a spy like her would never be surprised by someone approaching from behind.

He ignores the jump, filing it away in his mind as Juliet blinks at the plate, then stares at him in askance.

Thomas digs into his own plate, pretending to only just notice her staring after a moment.

“What?”

She lifts an eyebrow, and he just knows in his soul that this isn’t the last time she’ll give him that look.

“What is this?”

She gestures to the plate on her desk, the tone of her voice suggesting that she shouldn’t’ve had to ask the question, and he’d have to be dense to not understand her, with the question unsaid.

Which.

Fair.

But still.

Thomas has survived and thrived by letting people underestimate him, and he doesn’t know her well enough to change her opinion of him, just yet.

“It’s dinner. You seemed busy, with those guys visiting, so I thought I’d bring you some food.”

She glances down at the plate like it’s been poisoned.

He shrugs.

“Also, I’ve never seen you eat before and need proof that you aren’t a robot. For security purposes. And I need a favor for a case.”

This is the right, no, _expected_ thing to say, and she immediately rolls her eyes, picking up a fry.

“I don’t have time to do you a favor, Mr. Magnum. As you say you’ve noticed, I’m _busy_.”

He gives a mental curse, outwardly casual as he stuffs his face with fries.

Her eyes meet his steadily, and he knows what she’s thinking.

_Two can play at that game._

She’s calling his bluff, in a way, seeing through his bumbling act for just long enough to realize that he’s letting her underestimate him.

In letting her underestimate him, he’d been underestimating her.

Okay, time to cut to the chase.

“So what did those guys want, anyways?”

Her shoulders tense up again, and she frowns, glancing away.

“I told you. They were finalizing some paperwork for my former employers.”

So this has something to do with the British government.

He mulls her words over, nodding in false understanding as she squints at him, seeing through his illusion.

“Yeah. Nope. Don’t buy it. What was in that file they showed you?”

Alarms go off in the back of his head as she tenses up fully, determinedly looking away from him as she gets back to typing on her laptop, the sounds of the keyboard extra loud in the silence that is her reply.

He takes a moment to watch her, assessing whether or not he should keep pushing the topic tonight, and deciding not to.

Thomas sighs, finishing his meal and walking away, ignoring her when she pushes her barely-touched plate toward him in a silent attempt to get him to take it.

~*~

The next morning, he has an email from her, the background check on his potential client that he was going to, but didn’t, ask for.

He’ll admit.

She’s kinda scary.

She’s been doing him a lot of favors, for someone who doesn’t know him well and doesn’t seem to _like_ him all that much.

Thomas recalls the license plate of the SUV, his subconscious already prepared to do some research.

He thinks it’s time for him to do her a favor, as he pulls out his phone to call Rick.

~*~

Rick has his people asking around, and Juliet’s gotten a bit jumpier, in the past week.

She’s moved the furniture in her office, so her desk is in a corner and she can see both the windows and the entrance hall from her seat.

Thomas doesn’t comment, knowing how difficult it is to sit with your back to an exit, but he can’t help feeling that it may be worse, being cornered.

He starts bringing her meals more often, usually just something Kumu brings in from home, just to check in on her and make sure she isn’t going crazy, when he discovers that she’s started making strange phone calls, seeming to be planning for something. 

He doesn’t step in yet, still gathering information on the two men who have stayed in a hotel room for the past week, until he notices a holster taped to the bottom of her desk, with a gun inside of it.

When she leaves Robin’s Nest that night, folder in hand and gun conspicuously missing from its holster, Thomas follows her.

~*~

He can’t say he’s surprised, when he follows her to the same hotel that TC told him the two men are staying at, having left Robin’s Nest with the unmarked folder in her arms, and acting rather calm, for someone in the kind of situation Thomas suspects she’s in.

She glances around once, and he freezes in the lobby as her eyes meet his for a second, then continue to look around, not giving him so much as a cursory glance.

He frowns, confused.

Her stride gets more confident, and he knows she’s also seen Rick, TC and Nuzo, at different locations around the hotel lobby.

The four men share confused glances, Nuzo looking intrigued.

Thomas’s phone buzzes with a text.

**She wants us here.**

He looks around, seeing Rick and TC check their phones and see their friend’s message.

Seeing her head to an elevator, Thomas texts back.

**I’m getting in the elevator. Standby. I’ll text what floor.**

They don’t give any indication of seeing his message, other than checking their phones.

He moves quicker than he normally would, hopping into the thankfully empty elevator as Juliet gets in and pushes the button for the fifth floor.

She doesn’t react to his presence, not giving any indication of knowing him, and he doesn’t realize why until he glances in the corner, to see a camera.

_Huh._

He reaches over, pretending to go to push a button, thinking better of it when he realizes she’d pushed the button for the floor he’d wanted to go to.

A sheepish nod of thanks sent her way, he settles against the wall to wait, pulling out his phone and texting the floor level to his friends.

They arrive on the floor, Juliet setting a brisk pace down the hall, and he takes the hint, slowing his pace and walking a few feet behind her.

She reaches a room, pulling out her phone and doing something to it before putting it back in her pocket and knocking on the door.

Thomas walks past, feeling his phone buzz in his pocket and ducking into a stairwell before pulling it out, seeing that she’s calling him.

He answers.

_“Do you have the file?”_

There’s shuffling, as he imagines her simply holding it out to one of the men.

He sees Rick climbing the stairs, shushing him and putting the phone on speaker as Rick calls TC.

“They went up the other stairwell,” his friend explains, sitting on a step to listen.

One of the accented voices speaks again, frustrated.

_“It isn’t in here. Where is it?”_

Higgins’s voice comes over the phone.

_“I don’t have it. Any further attempt to blackmail me for that information will be useless.”_

Thomas tenses up, already planning the route back to that hotel room as they wait for the men to speak.

_“We gave you a week to get it. You know what we’ll do to you, right? We’ll blame you for everything. You know that we can.”_

Juliet’s voice is calm as she responds.

_“You can certainly try. As far as I’m concerned, we’re done, here.”_

She clearly moves to leave, and Thomas hears a smacking sound as she’s stopped.

_“I don’t think so.”_

He looks at Rick, his friend already whispering into his phone, telling the others to meet them.

The two men jump out of the stairwell, moving quickly as they hear a scuffle coming from the phone.

Nuzo and TC meet them halfway, having passed the room without realizing it.

“C’mon!” Thomas exclaims, skidding to a stop in front of the door he’d seen her enter.

He kicks the door, not caring about the damages as the metal plate of a lock stays put, the door falling open.

The four of them rush into the room to see Juliet sitting on one of the beds, the two men unconscious as she speaks into a phone.

“Yes, and let me be clear about one thing. If you ever attempt to threaten me or anyone under my protection again, you _will_ regret it.”

She promptly hangs up, looking somewhat amused at the presence of four heavily panting men and the state of the door.

“Mr. Masters will not be pleased, paying for the damages to the door.”

Thomas doesn’t know what’s going on, but he does know when to play along.

“Eh, he’ll get over it.”

She sends him a small, genuine smile.

“What’s going on here?” Rick finally asks, having grown impatient waiting for Thomas to.

Juliet shrugs.

“These two men attempted to blackmail me, threatening to frame me for certain activities, to get information.”

There’s a moment of silence, as they expect her to elaborate.

Thomas huffs.

“What information?”

She locks eyes with him.

“Oh, you know. Stuff.”

He _knows_.

These people wanted to know who the White Knight was.

He swallows hard, mind racing to understand who would want to know and why.

He pauses, tilting his head at her when he realizes.

These men absolutely _could_ frame her for something serious.

They still might.

Juliet Higgins was – and still is – willing to go to court, even to prison, to protect his secret.

She’d been giving him clues, showing shakiness and paranoia, even going so far as to rearrange her office and amp up security at Robin’s Nest, to get him to investigate.

Letting him follow her here, she’d expected the night to end like this.

Without knowing it, he and his friends had been her backup, in case she needed help.

She may not _like_ him much, but she definitely seems to trust him.

Rick and TC clearly still have questions that he knows she’ll never answer, Nuzo simply giving her an impressed look.

 _He probably figured out the plan in the lobby,_ Thomas realizes, sending his friend a sly glance.

Nuzo simply lifts an eyebrow, smirking.

“Let’s go get some dinner. I assume this is handled?” Nuzo turns to face Juliet, gesturing to the two men, still unconscious.

She looks down to the phone still in her hands, contemplating.

“If it isn’t, it will be.”

Nuzo’s willing to accept that answer, and honestly?

That’s enough for Thomas.

The promise of a free meal drags Rick and TC out of the hotel, Nuzo taking the two to their usual hangout as Thomas and Juliet go back to Robin’s Nest.

They stand by their cars for a moment, looking at the two different paths in front of them.

One to the main house, one to the guest house.

“Thanks.”

She glances over at him, surprised.

“Whatever would you be thanking me for, Mr. Magnum?”

He squints at her, seeing the _who, me?_ look on her face.

He smiles.

“Doing me a favor.”

A satisfied look crosses over her face, and he knows he’s just passed some kind of test.

“You’re welcome.”

With that, she turns and walks toward the main house, signaling the end of the conversation.

He sighs, starting the walk to his own bed when she calls out.

“Goodnight, Mr. Magnum.”

Glancing over, he sees that she doesn’t even look back to say it.

“Goodnight, Ms. Higgins.”

The two walk away from each other, neither one seeing the smile on the other’s face.

edn


End file.
